Large-scale embezzlement scheme exposed during creation of "DZVIN" system – SAPO
The SAPO and the NABU uncovered a large-scale corruption scheme in the defence sector, which resulted in the state losing over UAH 246 million. The scheme involved the embezzlement of budget funds during the creation of the automated system of the Centre for Operational Management of the Armed Forces of Ukraine "DZVIN".
This is reported by the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, Censor.NET reports.
What was the deal like?
According to the investigation, in 2016, the Ministry of Defence signed a contract for the development of the system with a company that had no experience in creating either troop management systems or specialised software.
Over the four years of development work, the technical specifications for the system were illegally changed 13 times, which increased the cost of the work by UAH 300 million and reduced the system's functionality tenfold.
The developed system does not meet the terms of reference
More than UAH 115 million was spent on unreasonable adjustments to documentation alone.
As the SAPO and NABU found out, the developed system does not meet the terms of reference at all: from incompatibility with NATO protocols to lack of integration with other military systems.
During the investigation, detectives and prosecutors faced attempts to obstruct the investigation: those involved in the scheme began to hide key documentation on the financing and development of the project. After the investigation began, they accelerated their work and even upgraded the system for free, trying to make it more similar to the original plan. However, due to fundamental errors in the architecture, it is impossible to improve the DZVIN system.
Among the suspects:
- former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General;
- former head of the Armed Forces of Ukraine's communications troops, Major General;
- former Head of the Automation Development Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Col;
- Director of a private company is the main contractor.
Their actions are qualified under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The pre-trial investigation is ongoing.
Development of the Dzvin system
As a reminder, in March 2021, journalists reported that in 2016, the military ordered Everest Limited to develop a command and control system for the Armed Forces. The development took 4 years and UAH 600 million of budget funds. However, the audit found so many shortcomings and problems in the Dzvin project, as the system was called, that its implementation in the army may be inappropriate and impossible.
Later, the Ministry of Defence said that after the audit, funding for the Dzvin army management system had been suspended. The National Security and Defence Council held a meeting on the Dzvin system, where they discussed its acceptance into trial operation in one of the Armed Forces' military units for evaluation.
Servicemen of the former A2724 military unit (Aerial Intelligence) are convinced that the development of the Dzvin command and control system does not bring Ukraine any closer to NATO integration, and their unit was disbanded so that they could not speak about it.
However, in December 2022, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov ordered the Armed Forces of Ukraine to adopt the Dzvin strategic-level automated command and control system, which is being investigated by the NABU.
